Description
Health benefits, cancer fighting qualities and many other medicinal advantages can be attributed to the Cannabis Plant. Likewise, diseases and disorders are also related to smoking, vaping and ingesting components of the Cannabis Plant. Cannabis users should be aware and well informed regarding both the positive effects and the negative consequences of regular Cannabis use and this eBook accomplishes that goal by employing over 650 current peer reviewed reports and studies—and their findings— with active hyper links to each report.

Summary
Over 650 peer reviewed reports and studies outlining both the positive and negative aspects of vaping and/or smoking marijuana with a focus on adolescent use and consequences.

Excerpt
Increasing prevalence of recreational cannabis use among the young population has stimulated debate on the possible effects of acute and longterm use. Cannabinoids derived from herbal cannabis interact with endogenous cannabinoid systems in the body. Actions on specific brain receptors cause dose-related impairments of psychomotor performance with implications for car and train driving, airplane piloting and academic performance. Other constituents of cannabis smoke carry respiratory and cardiovascular health risks similar to those of tobacco smoke. Cannabis is not, as widely perceived, a harmless drug but poses risks to the individual and to society. Herbal cannabis contains over 400 compounds including over 100 cannabinoids, which are aryl-substituted meroterpenes unique to the plant genus Cannabis. The pharmacology of most of the cannabinoids is largely unknown but the most potent psychoactive agent, (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol Δ9-THC, or THC), has been isolated, synthesised and much studied.
Other plant cannabinoids include Δ8-THC, cannabinol and cannabidiol. These and other cannabinoids have additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects with THC and may modify its actions when herbal cannabis is smoked. Synthetic cannabinoids such as nabilone and others are also available for therapeutic and research purposes. Non-cannabinoid constituents of the plant are similar to those found in tobacco (with the exception of nicotine).
Cannabinoids are present in the stalks, leaves, flowers and seeds of the plant, and also in the resin secreted by the female plant. The THC content varies tremendously between different sources and preparations of cannabis. Over the past 20 years, sophisticated cultivation (such as hydroponic farming) and plant-breeding techniques have greatly increased the potency of cannabis products. In the ‘flower power’ days of the 1960s and 1970s an average reefer contained about 10 mg of THC.
Now a joint made out of skunkweed, netherweed and other potent subspecies of Cannabis sativa may contain around 150 mg of THC, or 300 mg if laced with hashish oil. Thus, the modern cannabis smoker may be exposed to doses of THC many times greater than his or her counterpart in the 1960s and 1970s (Mendelson, 1987; Gold, 1991; Schwartz, 1991; World Health Organization, 1997; Solowij, 1998).
This fact is important since the effects of THC are dose-related and most of the research on cannabis was carried out in the 1970s using doses of 5- 25 mg THC (World Health Organization, 1997). Gold (1991, p. 356) remarks: “ This single fact has made obsolete much of what we once knew about the risks and consequences of marijuana use”. In the UK at present, many recreational users grow their own supplies of high-potency cannabis (exact de-
tails of how to grow it can be obtained on the internet). Another main source is imports from Holland (also high-potency) and home growers can obtain seeds in Amsterdam at £10-£50 for 10 seeds, depending on potency. Cannabis can be smoked as joints, from pipes, or from ‘buckets’, by inhaling from a mass of plant or resin ignited in a sawn-off plastic bottle. It can also be eaten, baked into cookies or cakes or occasionally drunk as an extract. It is unsuitable for intravenous use as it is relatively water insoluble, although it has been dissolved in alcohol and delivered as a fast-flowing saline infusion for research purposes.
The pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids are reviewed by Agurell et al (1986) and Maykut (1985) and others. About 50% of the THC in a joint of herbal cannabis is inhaled in the mainstream smoke; nearly all of this is absorbed through the lungs, rapidly enters the bloodstream and reaches the brain within minutes. Effects are perceptible within seconds and fully apparent in a few minutes. Bioavailability after oral ingestion is much less; blood concentrations reached are 25-30% of those obtained by smoking the same dose, partly because of first-pass metabolism in the liver. The onset of effect is delayed (0.5-2 hours) but the duration is prolonged because of continued slow absorption from the gut. Once absorbed, THC and other cannabinoids are rapidly distributed to all other tissues at rates dependent on the blood flow. Because they are extremely lipid soluble, cannabinoids accumulate in fatty tissues, reaching peak concentrations in 4-5 days. They are then slowly released back into other body compartments, including the brain. Because of the sequestration in fat, the tissue elimination half-life of THC is about 7 days, and complete elimination of a single dose may take up to 30 days (Maykut, 1985). Clearly, with repeated dosage, high levels of cannabinoids can accumulate in the body and continue to reach the brain. Within the brain, THC and other cannabinoids are differentially distributed. High concentrations are reached in neocortical, limbic, sensory and motor areas.